British artist Toby Poolman exhibited wall art and a coffee table at the Tent London design event.

Poolman’s sculptures are manufactured from recycled engineering components, sourced from the remains of a vintage Ferguson tractor. Their construction involved the careful deconstruction of the seized up and rusted machine before cleaning, shaping and welding each component into place to create a contemporary and intricate form.

Source: Contemporist

Sebastian Herkner‘s Felt Clock has a message, “In the contemplation of wasting time and materials this clock is made out of 60% recycled PET”, aka plastic pop bottles. Herkner adds, “I wanted the wall clock to have a distinctive nature but with a message… The PET felt [also] allows a single-step production, offers sound dampening properties and provides a non-obtrusive aesthetic.” LEFF Amsterdam will launch Felt at Maison&Object 2012.

Source: MoCo Loco

Designer Eduardo Alessi’s new Eco DIY Collection involves two of our very favorite things: healthy-for-the-earth materials and getting to make things with our hands. Because of the material these are really lightweight products, and easy to ship because they are flat-packed. Those items that are electric products are totally energy efficient. And once you’ve folded your product you get a cool modern design — each of the five designs are modeled after an endangered species of animals.

Source: 2modern

Mesh and wireframe structures might typically be reserved for the architectural design realm, but Dutch designer Maria Blaisse aims to expand the rules of textiles and flexible materials with her long-standing commitment to movement research. Her latest exhibition, Moving Meshes, highlights the resilience of bamboo as a medium.

Source: Dwell

The Kenguru is an electric vehicle made specifically for those in wheelchairs. It’s a fast and affordable way to give mobility to a large portion of the population, and has received lots of great feedback and reception. Up next from Kenguru is a slightly larger vehicle design to accommodate larger wheelchairs and allow those with limited upper body strength to steer easier.

Source: 2modern

Check out this indoor vertical garden with little to no mess! Urbio is a diverse and dependable solution for urban gardening and small space organization. Urbio vessels are easily detachable, remove them from the wall to water, replant, aerate, prune, etc. Pumice stones help plants to grow in Urbio. Just remember to never over water and your plants will flourish!

Prompted by a lack of tree-shaded spots to sit under in his adopted city of Milan, product designer Matteo Cibic wondered, “If you can pay to park your car in front of your house or office, why can’t you also pay to have a tree right there?” This appealing question led to Cibic’s design of this mobile “tree trolley” where conceptually, a “tree is parked like a car” for the enjoyment of everyone.  The trolley also acts as a communal wi-fi hotspot that could replace the “electro smog” of many private ones.

Source: TreeHugger

From Tracy Kendall, a wallpaper for the outdoors made of Tyvek. ”Designed for a silver medal award winning garden at London’s Chelsea Flower show in 2011, the outdoor wallpaper puts together the most modern of materials with hand crafted workmanship producing a wallpaper which withstands the wind and rain of the British weather and beyond but still looks beautiful and serene.”

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New Yorkers who take lunch at Bryant Park may have noticed a curious solar-powered contraption hanging around – one that charges cell phones! Designed by Brooklynite Tommy Mitchell, the renewable energy gadget has been powering up people’s phones thanks to an 85-watt solar panel. Eight phones can charge at each solar-powered station in the park at no cost to the user, or to the environment.

Source: Inhabitat

It seems that you can make furniture out of just about anything. We’ve seen road signs, newspaper and old flour and Metrocards become chairs and tables. Here’s a line that might top them all. Re:composed from Springtime makes products from trashed cars, old clothes and agricultural waste, including tomato plants.

Considering what they’re working with, the Amsterdam-based “creative force” has created a surprisingly sleek and modern set of pieces. The tables, stools and trays are made with the raw, recycled materials combined with a bio-resin. The car waste is what’s left over and usually thrown away after the vehicles are mostly recycled. Springtime calls it “residual flow” – foam, upholstery, metal and sand. The shredded textiles are obtained from overstocked factories and stores, and from organizations that change uniforms and no longer need the old ones. The agricultural waste used is what’s left of plants after their fruits are harvested, like tomato plants that are no longer productive and are replaced by younger versions.

Kudos to Springtime for making furniture that uses materials few would consider useful, and making a product whose luxury belies its origins.

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